Pandemic Fear and Weight Gain: Effects on Overweight and Obese Adults’ Purchasing Exercise Apparel Online

The purpose of this study was to investigate the interactive effect of pandemic fear and weight gain on overweight and obese consumers’ decisions to purchase exercise apparel online based on the theory of planned behavior and body-related self-discrepancy theory. A sample of 515 male and female adults with BMIs of 25 and higher participated in this study. The effect of pandemic fear on the attitudes toward purchasing exercise apparel online was only positive for overweight and obese consumers who did not gain weight during pandemic. However, for those who gained weight during the pandemic, there was no significant effect of pandemic fear on the attitudes toward purchasing exercise apparel online. Attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were all significant predictors of intent to purchase exercise apparel online. This study extends the theory of planned behavior by adding the pandemic-related factors and provides practical implications for online retailers.